Want vs. Obligation-- The Awakening

Up until this point there are several instances that describe Edna's supposed "infatuation" with different men in her life. The first were when she was young-- a male family friend, an actor. Robert is a different situation though, for Edna is a grown woman and, well, things have changed. Her husband is a good man, so it seems, yet there is no mention of her infatuation with him, her desire for him. Their marriage is almost a byline amidst the lustful wanting of these other men. And Robert fulfills her fantasies as well. Yet as she is grown by this point, it seems as though Edna may be in love with him rather than just lusting after him.

Edna is with her husband out of obligation. She has these desires to break free which she almost acts upon, yet she refrains because of her duties to her husband and her family. The marriage dynamic between Edna and her husband is stale-- they don't talk like two people who know each other deeply, they are very casual with one another. Edna and Robert, on the other hand, spent two days on an island together. She wants him.